


Quantum Entanglement Indeed

by IllusiveSoul



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Geeky, Infidelity, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Nerdiness, Smut, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24749020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllusiveSoul/pseuds/IllusiveSoul
Summary: A casual friendship struck while being deployed on Mars turns to be way more than what Samantha Traynor bargained for.Surprises like this are double edged swords.
Relationships: EDI/Samantha Traynor, Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Miranda Lawson/Ashley Williams, Steve Cortez/James Vega
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	1. Begginings

**Author's Note:**

> I came across some Edi/Traynor fanart while browsing Tumblr and was finally inspired to write about them.  
> I've always had a thing for this ship and now I'm finally making something with it.

Research Station "Impulse"

Near the orbit of Lepini, Aquila System, Ismar Frontier

2182

"Finishing now"

The researchers tapped their holographic keyboards, inputting line upon line of code composed of numbers and letters that spread across the whole display, filling their screens. In the middle of the room, a large display showed for brief moments a bright, white light that sparked with increasing frequency. Behind the researchers, a man and a woman watched with stoic, yet intense expressions at the dozens of personnel working in front of them.

The long years of waiting were finally at an end. The failures, the spionage, the millions of credits that were invested… it was time to see if it would all pay out.

The lights suddenly dimmed, drawing out hushed gaps from some of those present in the room as the monitors shut off.

As the sense of fear and dread at the prospect of failing once more began to fill the air, a flash of white exploded in front of them.

The researchers covered the eyes, momentarily blinded. The man behind watched without flinching, the white light being reflected on his blue irises, a satisfied smile set on his face and a single thought crossing his head.

"And God said... 'Let there be light' "

"Its online. Correct ?" The man asked, his cold tone hidding the excitement he was feeling.  


"Yes, sir" the head researcher replied, still rubbing his eyes "It's online"

"Run all the tests necessary to ensure it is working properly and according to our parameters" he said as looked at all of them, and smiled "What you have done today marks a new age for mankind. I'm proud of you. Humanity is proud of you, and they will remember you for this"

As the crowd bursted into rapturous celebration, he and the woman turned and began to walk down a long corridor, empty corridor behind the room, which gave a full view of the galactic landscape that surrounded the facility, the vast void of the eternal night that was space and the millions of distant stars and planets that filled it.  


"When they're certain the AI is fully functional, make sure a duplicate is made and delivered to the robotics department, Mrs Lawson. I want the EVA project to be operative at the same time as the new frigate programs"

"Yes, sir. I've already developed some possible personality development sequences that i think would be most fitting for the role we expect for it"

"Excellent, Mrs Lawson. Time is of the essence, and we need every second we can get"

As the woman followed him by the corridor, she made a mental note to herself to check the status of the new frigates, which were being developed after receiving the blueprints as a 'gift' from their spies in the Alliance.

Project Codename: Normandy.

Alliance Research Facility "Bulwark 2"

Mars, Sol System

2185

This wasn't what she had in mind when she learned she was being transferred, Samantha Traynor said to herself, discreetly wiping her nose again as she tightly held on to the safety handle of her seat. When the messaged reached her last week, her mind raced with excitement.

All she knew was that the project had to do with quantum entanglement and that it was in the Sol system. Oh, how excited she'd been about it, finally getting the chance to put all those years of passionate study to the test.

"Your daughter's a nerd, William" Rina said as she held Samantha and softly kneaded her head, both of them reading the message on the datapad as the warm summer breezes of Horizon washed over them "She's all giddy about plugging com wires back at Sol"

"They're not com wires, mom!" Samantha replied, exasperated "Quantum entanglement is the most advanced form of communication ever made. The fact that you can instantly communicate to someone in any point of the galaxy, regardless of where they are, is the biggest leap we have made since… well, ever. The possibilities and implications are endless…"

William shrugged as he sat beside them, serving their homebrewed ale in 2 cups and handing one to Rina.

"She got that from you, darling. You're the tech wiz. I'm just a mechanic"

"I made VIs. Not wiry quantum com buoy stuff"

"It doesn't use buoys or wires! The whole point is that it doesn't need anything like…" Samantha turned and looked at her dad "You understand how important this is, right, dad ?" Samantha asked.

"Oh yeah, totally. Instant galactic communications could be so very useful for… ehrm… communicational... communications, right ?"

Traynor sighed "I love you both so much but I can't wait to get to work on this with people who actually understand me"

"A nerd den, you mean"

"Oh, I swear…"

"Shhhh. You little firecracker" her mom said "You're our nerd. And we'll support and love you"

"Always" her dad said as he messed her hair.

The shuttle shaked violently. Traynor swallowed hard as she bumped into the armored soldiers beside her. In the tiny window in front of her, she saw the storms of lightning outside the shuttle.

"I should never have left Horizon"

"We're experiencing some minor turbulence as we go below the cloud barrier. Hang tight"

Another shake, accompanied by loud thunder exploding outside.

"Oh, Lord… think of something else, Samantha… something good..."

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift.

Memory. Horizon. Warmth. Home. Dad. Chatting.

The imagery brought a smile to her face.

She rested in front front of her dad, listening to him speak.

"And as the planes came in range over Quito ,BOOM! Anti aircraft batteries all around opened up, filling the sky with explosions and tracers, lighting up all the aircraft they could reach…"

Traynor shivered. Bad time to remember that dad was a history nerd and his stories.

Another shake.

Samantha's knuckles were white from the strength from which she was gripping the safety belt.

"The odds of a state of the art military shuttle going down are infinitesimal. The Kodiak is shielded, and… and armored plated and…"

Another thunder.

"I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to…"

Her omnitool pinged.

Amidst the constant shaking, she gave the device on her arm a quick look. A single message from an unknown sender appeared in her notifications.

"Stay calm. Breathe. It will be alright"

Samantha looked up, her eyes drifting from amongst the armored soldiers, scientists and other personnel that filled the vehicle, looking for anyone who was using their omnitools and that could be the sender of the message.

In an almost diagonal direction from her, behind the middle row of seats, she saw her, the only other person using her omnitool, and the only one looking at her and smiling.

Samantha smiled back, as she quickly checked the passenger's appearance.  


The woman wore an alliance grey science outfit, hi tech visor glasses, the kind that were beyond most people's monetary reach, and had light brown hair tied in a bun.

Before they could say anything else, their omnitools automatically shutted down as they entered the perimeter of the base, which wasn't precisely comforting knowing how vast it was.

Yet, the presence of the scientist was somehow comforting.

And whenever their eyes met, the woman always answered with that soft smile.

She didn't know why, but that smile made Samantha feel safe and calm the rest of the trip.

The deserts of Mars weren't much of a sight, the mountains that surrounded the base being as dry and barren as they could be, and the amount of dust the storms kicked off wasn't doing any good for her allergies. Trying not to be distracted by the near constant bouts of lightning and thunder that spewed from the clouds, the noise of which was thankfully dimmed by the base shields, Traynor waited outside the shuttle, watching as the dozens of travelers descended from the vehicle, most chatting with one another or on their omnitools.

Samantha felt that usual discomfort of not knowing anyone again. Of being the outsider.  


She'd never gotten used to the constant travelling due to her parent's work, making any acquaintances and friendships she made short-lived. She had a hard time making friends, which only made losing them even harder.  


It had been the same in college and after joining the Alliance.

She hated the feeling, but that random encounter in the shuttle had given her some hope it might be different this time.

That since this posting was more permanent, at least for the time being, that the universe had blessed her with the possibility of making a friend on her first day.

But she watched with dismay as the last passengers left the shuttle, leaving the empty vehicle behind.

She turned and looked behind her towards the sprawling Alliance facility, a maze of buildings and tunnels spreadings as far as she could see, resembling more a small city than a military base. The woman had most likely been one of the first ones off the shuttle and had vanished amongst the crowds, just another random face in a sea of people.

"Oh, well. Shit happens" she sighed, remembering her mother's life motto as she placed her bag over her shoulder, feeling the ache on it from the weight, and began to walk down the stairs from the spaceport 

"Another example of Murphy's law, i guess" she said halfway down "What can go wrong, will most likely…"

"Go wrong"

Traynor jumped and had to hold herself tightly against the railing to avoid rolling down the stairs as a voice spoke beside her from one of the observation points beside the stairs, which were partially hidden when looking at them from above.

"I am so sorry. I didn't intend to scare you"

"Oh, don't worry" Samantha replied as she crouched to lift the bag from the floor "I'm easily scared by nature. Bravery has never been my…"

"Please, allow me"

Samantha's eyes went wide as she saw the woman from the shuttle leaning down and lifting the bag with one hand "You were saying something"

Samantha swallowed hard as she stood and looked towards the woman's face "Br-bravery has never been my defining characteristic. Well, you probably knew this already, since you witnessed my little panic attack in the shuttle and all" Oh, Maker, she's so tall.

"I think you did better than most people on their first trip to Mars, all things considered. There's a reason new fighter pilots are trained here. To find the ones capable of handling the planetary storms" she replied as she indicated towards the stairs with her hand "Shall we ?"

"Well, you can consider me unfit for storm travelling right now" Samantha replied with a short laugh as they walked down the stairs. She seems smart. Quite a looker too. That small mole above her lip... 10/10. Oh my god, Samantha, stop that, you weirdo "I'm sorry, but I don't think I've gotten your name" she said as she stretched her hand "I'm Samantha…"

"Traynor. I know" the scientist replied as she shook Samantha's hand with a firm yet soft grip "I'm Dr Eva Coré"

"Y-you know about me ?"

"Oh, yes. I've read your studies about quantum entanglement and it's applications and uses in galactic communications. They were quite interesting and truly fascinating"

"Oh, I didn't know anyone besides my college professors had read that, but, uh… thank you. Glad you liked them" Samantha smiled as she nervously scratched the back of her neck, a hint of a blush slowly creeping up her face "I think that's the nicest thing someone has said to me in my life"

"It's not even my field of work and i was impressed. You can expect to hear more like that since they brought you here to Mars. I assume that's what you'll be working on here ?"

"You're well informed, Dr. Not really supposed to talk about it, but yeah. Mars could become a very important hub for communications if the project i'm assigned to works out"

"Then i truly hope it does. For humanity's sake"

"What about you ? What brought you to these lovely storm-filled dustball ?"

"Prothean research. Not supposed to talk about it either, but let's just say there's some interesting things beneath the rocks and sand"

"I bet" It'd explain the size of the facility after all, she thought.  


As they reached the entrance area, Coré slumped down the bag from her shoulder and handed it to Samantha, accompanied with a polite smile.

"Well, Mrs Traynor. This is where we part ways. I hope that I'll see you around"

"Please, call me Samantha. And yeah, see you around"

Traynor saw her walk away and blend into the crowds, finally getting out of sight after having to tilt her head down to get through the door.

Bloody hell, she's tall.

"Move along, please"

"Oh, sorry" Traynor said as she gave way to a group of soldiers who passed after her.

As she went towards the registration bot,

Samantha couldn't help but smile. She felt happy. Odd feeling, but not entirely unwelcome.

Perhaps her time on Mars wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Foundations

There was an odd sensation in the air.

Something… electrifying… unusual… weird.

Was it the ventilation, was it the atmosphere of the base or the planet… Samantha couldn't tell what it was, but that sense of uneasiness and nervousness kept gnawing at her.

_You just need to get used to being here, that's all. Everything is fine, everything is under control… you're just… nervous, that's all._

She turned around in her bunk and stared at the roof, counting once again the amount of screws and metallic lines that were on it. 

_I must have memorized the shape of the entire roof by now._

She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to relax her body and calm her mind, trying to get some shut eye before the sunrise.

_"200 sheeps… 201 sheeps… 202 sheeps…"_

Nothing.

She turned and looked at the clock on the far end of the room. It read 3:45 in bright red numbers, the light reflecting eerily on Sam, almost as if it was reprimanding her for being up so late.

_Might as well go do something useful. No sense in wasting time here._

Samantha quietly moved down from the bed, making as little noise on the tiny metallic stair as she could. The stair clanked a little hard, bringing out a half groan from the person sleeping in the bunk under her, but fortunately it didn't wake him up.

Putting on her uniform and boots as quickly and quietly as she could, she glanced around at the dozens of soldiers soundly asleep in their bunks.

 _Lucky them"_ she said to herself as she snuck quietly out of the dorm. 

Moving out of the building instantly brought her back to the reality of living in a base so big. Bases that, like cities, never slept.

Overhead dozens of shuttles and gunships flew, being visible under the sealed transparent tunnels that composed the halls of the facility. Behind them, beyond the mass effect shields, the lightning and thunderbolts from the storm were clearly visible, filling the air with their majestic light.

 _“Had to come this far to look at storms… But it was worth it. So much power…”_ Samantha thought as she stared briefly at them in awe. Horizon almost never had storms, and those did not usually come accompanied by lightning. And during her time on Earth she hadn’t seen much of them either. So it came as a pleasant surprise to see them so often here on Mars.

She knew she’d be scared out of her life if they were closer and she could hear them in their full potential, but still, it was nice to see them. Even if she preferred to appreciate them for afar.

Walking down one of the halls, following the indications from her omnitool, she came close to the lab. Blending in with the night shift workers, she moved with the crowds to avoid drawing suspicion from any of the alliance police who might ask what she was doing out outside of her shift hours, until she finally reached the final hall that led to the communications research department.

She moved towards the large door on the entrance, and brought up her omnitool to start linking her credentials to the security system.

 _"ID number not recognized. Please input again"_ the automated voice.

"What… Oh, bugger… Ehrm… 67823...4"

_"ID number not recognized. Please input again"_

"Ok, what the hell is happening ? I was through here yesterday…"

"Bit late to be wandering around" a voice said behind her.

"For all that is fucking holy!" Samantha jumped at the sudden sound, dropping the datapad cussing in a muffled, angry scream "Shit, fuck, fuck!"

"Such profanity" the woman replied.

Turning around, Traynor saw a familiar face standing in the side of the corridor, arms to her sides and a cocky smile on her face.

"Oh, Dr Coré. Hi" Samantha said, the anger she felt quickly fading, giving way to nervousness "You'll be the death of me if you keep jumping up on me like this. Weak heart of mine is already frail as it is"

"Well, then. Guess I'll have to find ways to "jump on you" that are easier on that frail heart of yours" the doctor replied.

Samantha looked at her, a dumbfounded smile set on her face. _"Did she just… Was she… Nah, nah… it was a joke. A joke. Between colleagues. Right. Bet a thousand credits she's straight too…"_

"Are you alright ?" Eva asked, looking concernedly at Samantha.

"Ye-yeah" Traynor replied, snapping out of her support "Just… mind drifted away for a bit"

"So what are you doing wandering around this late ? You're not on the night shift, I presume"

"No. Just… couldn't sleep. Thought I'd drop by the lab. Trying to make some use of the time, since apparently I left my sleeping habits in orbit"

Eva chuckled "Well, we all have a little trouble adjusting at first. Something about Mars' atmosphere is… odd, in a sense. But trust me, in a week you'll be getting your beauty sleep in no time. Not like you need it though"

_Bloody hell, this woman…_

"Yeah, hopefully. Can't say I've been around much in groundside colonies. Mars is my first real deployment" she turned and gave a quick glance at the door "I'd love to tell you more inside, if this… pile of crap lock would recognize my credentials"

"Did the Alliance give you a new omnitool before sending you here ?"

"Uhm… yeah, they did. A Sirta Foundation one. Not the best ones out there but eh, wanted to change mine anyhow"

"I see. Sometimes the new locks bug out when reading the new ones. Tends to happen the first times" Eva said as she brought the holographic display of her own omnitool "Perhaps I can help with that. Try pairing yours with mine" 

Samantha did as she was told, and a single beep indicated a successful pairing.

"Here. Try it now"

Traynor moved towards the door, and after scanning the device once, the lock beeped and the door hissed open.

"Well then. You're a life-saver, Dr Core"

"I do my best effort to be a helpful colleague" Eva said as she walked besides Traynor as they entered the lab.

The words _"Security Clearance acquired. Data hard drive copied"_ flashed briefly in Eva's omnitool before it shut off.

 _"Welcome, specialist Traynor"_ the automated VI voice said as it turned on the lights in the room and activated the ventilation system, sending a wave of cool air that washed over the 2 women.

"Well, here we are. Welcome to, as my mom would said, "my nerd den""

"Impressive. I've never been here before"

The room was massive, stretching almost to the limits of their sight. Hundreds of cubicles were lined up to one of the sides of the room, giving space for the hundreds of cables and equipment that ran from the middle to the rest of the room. The hue that came off the devices showered the room in a blue tint that contrasted with the whitish lights on the roof.

“It never gets old, doctor” Samantha said with a smile as she guided Core towards her cubicle “It may sound silly but… I’m happy to be here. Happy to be with people who understand me and happy to be working on something that will be such a boost not just to humanity, but to the galaxy as a whole”

“You’re so excited” Eva replied “It’s cute, but I’m glad that you’re happy. You’re the kind of person who’ll achieve greatness. I know it”

“Oh, wow, that’s kind of you to say. I don’t know if greatness is what I’ll get, but I’ll certainly do my best”

“Trust me, Samantha. Just look at your record. The Alliance is lucky to have you”

Samantha nodded softly as she sat down in front of her computer and softly nodded at the doctor “Thank you”

"So, what are you planning to do during your 'extra work hours' ?"

"Just run numbers, check the synchronization, making sure all systems are working properly, that the equipment is properly calibrated…" Samantha puffed as she continued typing into her holographic desktop display "I know, 'exciting stuff'. It sounds boring, but i really enjoy doing it"

“Your happiness is contagious, Mrs Traynor”

“Well, if you think my happiness is contagious… Wanna see something cool ?”

“Of course. Beware tough, I’m hard to surprise”

“Don’t worry. This will knock off your boots”

“I’m not wearing boots”

“It’s an expression… Never mind”

“And here we go” Samantha said as she tapped her omnitool.

The large panel on the center of the room began to glow, the dozens of cables that went to it lighting up as the energy pulses travelled to them to reach the device.

The sounds of a machine that was hidden from sight, probably buried on the floor under the panel, began to make itself louder and louder, the power regulators activating and keeping the energy levels in check to avoid an overload.

The roof lights near the panel flickered momentarily, and the thought of them exploding crossed Eva's mind, as the humming sound increased exponentially.

But then… silence.

The panel, now fully lit, gave off an imposing atmosphere over the room, the bluish lights drowning out all the external ones as it stood ready to be used. 

"The plan is to link it to the Alliance facility in Mogadishu. If it successfully connects to there, they'll replicate the network through Earth. Next stop is ensuring instantaneous communications to Arcturus and the colonies"

"It's breathtaking" Eva said, her eyes reflecting the blue light that swallowed the room "I'm in awe"

"So… are your boots knocked off ?" Samantha asked, a coy smile on her face.

Eva chuckled, letting out a sigh before answering "Yes… my boots have been knocked off"

"Good. Then my job here is done"

As she wound down the device and they walked back to Samantha's desk, the two settled into some comfortable small talk.

"So, Eva, what do you do in your free time ? When you're not busy deciphering millenia old secrets from our ancestors ?" Samantha said, smiling.

"Ancestors ? You wouldn't happen to be one of those that believes were all descended from the protheans, would you ?" Core replied, crossing her arms and she leaned against a column "Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just didn't got that vibe from you"

Samantha chuckled "Not to worry. I'm a firm believer that we all come from our simian predecessors who used to hang from trees. Just tried to be funny and failed, as usual"

"It's all good. At least you try" Eva said "I'm usually just relaxing on my own. Listening to music, watching some series here and there"

"What kind of music do you like ?"

"Little bit of everything, really. Some of my favorites are the Inmates, Thol'Kar Flow, Gemini Ascendant…"

"You know Gemini Ascendant ? The all-girl, synth pop, Gemini Ascendant from Elysium ?" Samantha replied, excitement dripping from her voice.

"Yeah, I think they're great. You don't like them ?"

"Don't like them ? They're my favorite band ever" Traynor said as she stood, popping up a clip of them in her omnitool "I used to have all their holos back home in Horizon"

"Nice to meet a fellow fan. The main singer married the batterist a couple months back. It was beautiful"

"I was seeing it live. Hope this doesn't make me sound sillier than what I already am, but I was crying so hard looking at it" Samantha said, chuckling "I get emotional over dumb stuff like that. How dumb do I seem to you now ?"

"Not dumb at all ? Would you be surprised if I said I cried too ?"

"I would, but mainly because I can't picture crying at all. I don't know how to say it, you just have this sort of… strong, commanding aura about you"

"Funny. Most people tell me I'm a hardass"

"A hardass wouldn't admit they cried over members of a band crying, or hang out with an introverted weirdo like myself so much"

"Maybe so" Eva said, looking pensive towards the end of the room "You've got a way with words, don't you, Traynor ?"

"Quite the opposite, in fact. But if you can picture me as such, then thank you for the compliment" Traynor replied “And what about visual media ? Next thing you’ll tell me that you’re a fan of Vaenia too”

Core gave her a coyish smile.

“No way”

“It’s a long story. A few months back…”

After several minutes of listening to the doctor, Samantha gave a long look at Eva. She couldn't quite determine why, but there was something about the doctor that was so captivating, so… alluring. The way she acted and carried herself, the fiery determination that you could see in her eyes… the way that her voice was energetic and soothing at the same time, and how a small part of Samantha's brain told her that she could stay listening to those words for hours.

Samantha hoped that what was happening wasn't what she thought, that the small tingling of joy and happiness bursting in her stomach was not an indication of what she thought was happening to her.

She couldn't go through that again, she said to herself, stealing another quick glance at Eva. She couldn't burn herself again due to misguided feelings from her part.

_“I learned that all too well in the past. No need for another lesson”_

Still, she could gamble that she could at least gain a friend. That was good enough.

"Eva ? I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind"

"About what, Samantha?"

"Ehrm, i was just thinking about this… and I totally understand if you don't want to. You're pretty important and probably have a million things to do all the time. I don't know why I thought you'd want to or could…" Samantha chuckled nervously as she began to rub heavily the back of her neck "It was a silly thought. Sometimes I get these dumb ideas and…"

Traynor found herself silenced as Eva placed a finger on her lips "Samantha, how about you tell me what you're excited and hyper active machine of a brain you have and then we can both decide if it's silly or not. I think usually in conversations you ask the person and then wait for them to answer before jumping to conclusion, do you not ? At least I think that's how most of us humans tend to go about it" Core replied, smiling softly at Samantha.

Traynor.

When the doctor pulled her finger away from Samantha's lips, only then did Traynor feel she could breathe again, a furious blush rising at her cheeks.

"Yes, of course. You're correct, as usual" Samantha said as she began to fidget with her thumbs "Well, I wanted to ask you… I really enjoy your company. I know I'm probably just an acquaintance to you, but you're probably the only person I consider a friend on this base, as lame and pitiful as that sounds"

Samantha began to pace around, Eva watching her with a concerned expression.

"I've never been too good with people and social interactions, and honestly I don't know how you feel about the little time we've shared together, but would you… would you like to hang out more ? I mean, on our free time, if our schedules ever coincide and we happen to have some spare time at the same time"

Eva remained silent for a moment "Samantha…"

The specialist's sight buried towards the floor, as she held her arms behind her back, letting out a short nervous smile "It was silly, I know. You're busy and we'll probably never have time off at the same time. And now you're probably thinking I'm weird and how awkward I'm…"

"I'd love to hang out with you more"

Samantha looked at the doctor with disbelief "You're not saying this cause I put you on the spot and you don't want me to feel bad, right ? Cause honestly it's not a problem at all. I don't want you to feel obliga…"

The doctor once more silenced Samantha by placing her finger on her lips.

"Samantha, you are a delight to be around. You're always so hyper and excited and giddy that you give off good vibes to everyone around you. And I can't stress enough how refreshing it was to meet someone like you. You may think of yourself as awkward and messy at social interactions, but I much prefer to hang out with you than with all my "socially normal" colleagues"

"You honestly think that ?"

"I do. And as you said, we've shared little time together, but I consider you a friend too, and I'd love to hang out with you more"

Samantha smiled "Ah, well… thank you. Feels like you've taken a weight of my shoulders" she tapped her omnitool and checked her schedule "I have a free day next Wednesday"

"I'll be free after midday then. We can meet in the main Mess and see what we can do from there. Here, I'm syncing my omni to mine so we can keep in touch"

"Got it. Next Wednesday it is then"

Eva looked at the digital clock on the wall and noticed how the first shift of the day would begin soon.

"Your colleagues shall be joining you shortly, and I have to rush to my own work too. Don't want to have the VI japping in my ear of how late I'm getting to my work"

She gave Samantha a quick hug and said "Next Wednesday. Don't forget" as she paced quickly out of the lab.

Samantha sat on a nearby chair, a dumb smile set on her face "I couldn't forget even if I tried"

As her first colleagues walked into the lab, they all asked about the joy beaming off the Specialist that day.

“I had a productive night of work”


End file.
